A keener view from afar

My break did not detach me from the real estate world completely. A lot has happened on the market over the last year – and some of these events should even be considered as milestones, in my opinion. I followed the news about the selling and purchase of properties. I was happy to hear about the emergence of new segments of the industry. So this piece is my subjective response to these events, as seen through the eyes of a (semi) detached observer. The office market has been the segment screaming loudest for my attention. You don’t have to push a pram around town to see how new projects are continuing to transform the city, how the skyline is still getting that bit more crowded all the time. Warsaw Spire, one of the most interesting office projects on the Warsaw map, finally saw the light of day. Ghelamco Poland has done a good job, helping to revive this part of the city with its Plac Europejski square. Another debut in the capital was that of the Q22 tower, which changed hands soon after its opening, after Echo Investment sold the office building to Invesco Real Estate for PLN 1.2 bln. Besides these projects, there will be plenty of other opportunities to choose new HQs – there are currently nine large office buildings under construction in Warsaw: three buildings in The Warsaw Hub, Skyliner, Mennica Legacy Tower, Spinnaker and three buildings in the Varso complex, one of which will be the tallest building in Poland! I can’t wait.

The ‘family-friendly mall’ tag is one that’s often bandied about, but it’s clear what it should mean in practice. The thing is to check out for yourself whether they do what they say on the tin. In most cases, it does mean what it is supposed to mean; but I have been disappointed by a few shopping centres. It is certainly more difficult in some of them to get to the parent and baby room than it is to get the mall director’s office. Who first came up with the idea of keeping this room locked? I don’t know, but it might have something to do with securing such equipment as the microwave. By the way, the activity on the retail market does seem to have subsided a little since I’ve been away, but I hope that the opening of Galeria Północna and Wroclavia will do something to dispel this negative impression. I also hope that I will be able to go swimming in Suntago a few years from now, which, according to the developer, will be the largest aqua park in Europe once it is completed in Mszczonów near Warsaw. I’ve never been such a big fan of ‘pound shops’, which is why the arrival of such retail chains as TEDi was never going to gladden my heart, even though the owners of many properties might well feel differently. But I was delightfully surprised by the opening of a place where you can come late in the evening and be sure it is open. When you are finally able to put your baby to bed and leave him under the watchful eye of his grandparents, the desire to let your hair down can become irresistible. And this can be done (as I have personally found out) in Hala Koszyki – a place I would recommend to everyone.

Two transactions on the residential market should also be mentioned because of their importance: Catella’s purchase of apartments in Złota 44 and Matexi’s sale of the Apartamenty Pereca residential building to Bouwfonds. These deals should liven the sector up a bit, encouraging investment in new areas, and thus enhancing the attractiveness of the Polish market in the eyes of foreign investors.

And finally I can come to the issue that interests me most: the bill on REITs, which is currently making its way through parliament. This is a tool that could significantly change the face of the Polish real estate market. It will be a new source of capital for property owners and another alternative for Polish investors, including those who do not have huge funds at their disposal. I’m not going to describe all the benefits that would result from the introduction of REITs onto the Polish capital market. The most important thing is that the politicians engaged in drawing up this law have finally taken on board the necessity for introducing such a tool.